The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) aims to support and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs who are building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future. Every year, 10 finalists will be selected to compete in a finale pitch competition. And the televised finale event called “Africa’s Business Heroes” will now be broadcast on StarTimes platform as seen below: ST NOVELA E: 1st Episode: December 14, 08:50 PM – 09:50 PM Re-run: December 15, 06:00 PM – 07:00 PM 2nd Episode: December 21, 08:50 PM – 09:50 PM Re-run: December 22, 06:00 PM – 07:00 PM ST SPORTS FOCUS: 1st Episode: December 15, 09:00 PM – 10:00 PM Re-run: December 16, 01:00 PM – 02:00 PM 2nd Episode: December 22, 09:00 PM – 10:00 PM Re-run: December 23, 01:00 PM – 02:00 PM The competition for the top 10 finalists for the grand finale event took place in Accra, Ghana on 16 November 2019. The finalists were chosen from nearly 10,000 applicants from 50 African countries. After months of judging and deliberation, the finalists were shortlisted and went on to pitch their business directly to four finale judges – Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation; Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and Founder/CEO of The Chair Centre Group; and Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group. The winners will receive a share of the $1 million USD grant prize pool. “We launched the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative to identify top entrepreneurs from across the continent, not only to reward them but to inspire a whole new generation of potential game changers for Africa. I have been inspired by the entrepreneurs I met in Africa, many of whom are dealing with the same challenges we faced when we started Alibaba years ago. I truly believe the potential of Africa’s business heroes is limitless,” said Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation.
